Pepsi is a smart street kid in an unnamed South American country – an orphan
of circumstance, whose mother is dead and whose father, a famous politician, has
disowned him. At his side is Maria, a girl kidnapped from her real family who has
found in Pepsi a true ‘brother’. In this hard-hitting yet fantastic tale, Pepsi’s mission
is to escape the sadistic Caddy, a policeman in cahoots with his father, whose one
aim is to exterminate him, and to return Maria to her home – the rubbish-tip
township she calls ‘Heaven’.

Zameenzad portrays the lives of social outcasts, loners, losers, the deprived
and the dispossessed. He aims to give voice to the voiceless, and make visible the
invisible. In this remarkable novel, the children’s zest for life and the beauty of the world around them
ensure that their dramatic and poetic story, while dealing with the appalling reality of street children’s lives,
is uplifting to the spirit.

'If you can imagine a hybrid of City of God and The Wizard of Oz, then Pepsi and Maria comes close.' - Independent

'A Beautifully crafted, multi-faceted book: a highly dramatic and gripping thriller and a searing indictment of cruelty and inhumanity' - New Internationalist

About the Author

Adam Zameenzad was born in Pakistan and spent his early childhood in Nairobi. He went to university in
Lahore, Pakistan, becoming a lecturer there, and later came to live and work in the UK. Adam Zameenzad is
one of the most exciting and fascinating authors at work today and has been described as a ‘jewel in the
crown of English literature’. He has had five novels published to great acclaim, and has been translated into
many languages. The French rights of Pepsi and Maria have already been sold to Christian Bourgois Editeur. To visit Adam Zameenzad's website, click here.

Praise for Adam Zameenzad

The Thirteenth House (Winner of the David Higham Prize, longlisted for the Booker Prize)

A forceful, moving and confident debut. — The Times Literary Supplement

My Friend Matt and Hena the Whore (Film rights sold to Franc Roddam, director of Quadrophenia)